Raleigh Cliffside wrap up

The final Utilities Commission hearing on Cliffside was held this morning in Raleigh. It was a great success, with dozens of speakers across the spectrum calling for renewables and energy efficiency instead of more coal fired pollution.

The Sierra Club was represented by several outstanding speakers. Former national President Robbie Cox reminded the Commissioners of the recent LaCapra study of Renewable Portfolio Standards showing North Carolina has the ability to generate at least 10% of its energy from renewable sources and energy efficiency measures. He challenged the Commission to chart a 'new energy future' for our state instead of relying on coal, which he described as 'an outdated technology....that is a major contributor to climate change.'

We appreciated Dr. Cox, who in addition to being an accomplished environmentalist and speaker is also one of the best professors I had at UNC, taking the time out of his busy schedule to make these important remarks.

We were also quite appreciative of the contribution made by Chatham Olive, who came all the way up from Charlotte for this early morning meeting. When he was called up to speak, Commissioner Jimmy Ervin asked him to defer comment since he had already spoken in Charlotte last week. We were glad that Chatham's comments among so many other speakers last week were memorable!

He did finally get to speak at the end of the meeting, and he summarized all the commentary the UC has heard over the course of its hearings. He reminded them church leaders, grandparents, business leaders, public officials, and people all across the spectrum have come out to say that North Carolina needs to be a leader, that it needs to do better for its future than just approve another coal fired power plant. His words were well received by the audience.

An additional thanks goes to James Carnahan, one of our members in Carrboro, who came out despite having a busy day planned and informed the Commission that his hometown Board of Aldermen had expressed its unanimous opposition to the plant.

Many thanks to all those who helped plan these hearings and came out and spoke.